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'Music Honoring Vachel' featured at Lindsay Home July 28

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[July 21, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- The program series "Let us be bold with our songs" continues July 28 at the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site in Springfield with a 2 p.m. performance of "Music Honoring Vachel" by Jim and Susie Miller of Manitowoc, Wis., accompanied by Marilynn Dunlap.

"The 'Let us be bold with our songs' series is an educational and entertaining experience," said Jennie Battles, administrator of the Vachel Lindsay Home Site. "The program, drawing its title from Vachel Lindsay's own words, is an opportunity for residents and guests of Springfield to enjoy performances in the setting of the famous artist's historic residence."

The program will include some singalongs, as well as a few readings of Lindsay's poetry. The first medley will be from the Civil War era, with such tunes as "Lorena," "Just Before the Battle, Mother" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The second medley will feature "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven" and "Why I Voted the Socialist Ticket." The third will include music that was popular during Lindsay's lifetime, such as "Play a Simple Melody," "Toot, Toot, Tootsie" and "Lady Be Good."

Jim and Susie Miller are a husband-and-wife team who met when they both attended Indiana University. They have four sons -- all gifted singers and two of them composers.

Susie received a bachelor's degree in music education from Indiana University. She was the choral director at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc for 26 years and currently directs the Capitol Kids Choir in Manitowoc at the Capitol Civic Center, a restored vaudeville theater built in 1921. She also sings in a semiprofessional chorus, the White Heron Chorale, in Appleton, Wis.

Jim completed a master's degree in choral conducting at Indiana University. He taught choral music at Lincoln High School in Manitowoc for 32 years. He has done music and stage directing for a number of musicals, taught voice and piano, directed church choirs, and done some ad hoc teaching at the college level. He also sings in the White Heron Chorale. 

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Dunlap, the couple's accompanist for the program, attended Corbin College and toured with the Triple Trio and Sound of Song. She taught for the Yamaha Music Corp. for 20 years and consulted in teacher education in Salem, Ore.; Detroit, Mich.; and Atlanta, Ga. She has accompanied for Susie's choir and for Jim in several musicals he directed.

The July 28 program, sponsored by the Vachel Lindsay Association and the Old State Capitol Foundation, is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served after the program, and tours of the home will be available before and after the performance.

The Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site, 603 S. Fifth St. in Springfield, is the birthplace and longtime residence of poet, author and artist Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, 1879-1931. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free public tours.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]

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